Table of Contents
From the Editor
- Fantastic voyage: The peeping pill
In the 1966 movie Fantastic Voyage, Raquel Welch and her colleagues were shrunk and injected in a miniature submarine into the circulatory system of a comatose scientist. Now we have a disposable miniaturized television camera that can be swallowed.
Medical Grand Rounds
- Shared medical appointments: Increasing patient access without increasing physician hours
Physicians meet with a group of patients simultaneously during a 90-minute visit. Patients get improved access and education, and physicians improve productivity.
Medical Grand Rounds
- Rheumatoid arthritis: More aggressive approach improves outlook
Gone is the “pyramid” approach. Now, as soon as the diagnosis is established, we start a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug, usually methotrexate.
Review
Video capsule endoscopy: A voyage beyond the end of the scopeA tiny ingestible video camera can image the entire length of the small intestine, formerly the black box of the gastrointestinal system.
- Strengthening the standards for preventing heart disease and stroke: The recent AHA guidelines
New guidelines call for managing risk factors more aggressively than ever before, especially in people at high risk.
- Six strategies to identify and assist patients burdened by out-of-pocket prescription costs
As many as one in five people report that they did not fill a prescription in the previous year because of the cost. Physicians can help by asking about the problem and applying simple strategies to limit the patient’s costs.
Practice Commentary
I hope to convince you that, in type 2 diabetes, insulin treatment should not be a last resort.